Review: Logitech Wireless Music Streamer Spreads Media, Joy

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Review: Logitech Wireless Music Streamer Spreads Media, Joy

Logitech Squeezebox Duet

Logitech’s little black box liberates your music collection from the confines of your PC, streaming it via Wi-Fi to your Hi-Fi (or powered speakers). It also streams from Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker, internet radio stations, local radio stations, and can even pull down podcasts and RSS feeds. A sweet iPod-style remote controls all the action. Sound like any other magic music box you know? Yep, the Squeezebox Duet challenges the much pricier Sonos Digital Music System for in-home streaming supremacy, and almost comes away the winner.

But not quite. Setup is about as fun as getting glass shards stuck in your eye — especially if you configure Logitech’s SqueezeCenter software to tap your iTunes library. We also had trouble connecting to our SqueezeNetwork account, which configures all the non-PC music sources. And sometimes the remote couldn’t detect the Squeezebox base station. (Note to Logitech: Enough with all the SqueezeNames. Damn, yo!) But eventually we got the kinks worked out and rocked out with The Kinks.

Alas, SqueezeCenter doesn’t do DRM, so forget about streaming any protected tracks you bought from, say, iTunes or Zune Marketplace. However, it does support every audio format known to geekdom, from AAC to WMA Lossless. And if you upload your collection to MP3tunes ($39.95 annually), the Duet can stream it even when your PC is off. Want music in multiple rooms? Additional base stations run $150 a pop.

Those gripes aside, the Duet rocks hard. Between your personal collection and the collective libraries of Rhapsody, Shoutcast, and RadioTime (which tunes in actual radio stations from around the world), it feels like you’ve got an unlimited music repository in the palm of your hand. Tired of tunes? A nature-sounds plug-in turns your stereo into a babbling brook, crackling fire or, if you’re into it, a whinnying horse.

A few software fixes could turn this good music-streaming system into a great one. But even now, the Squeezebox Duet temporarily alleviates Sonos envy on the cheap. —Rick Broida